Immortal Alchemists
by Rashelle
Summary: Nicholas means to go to Munich, Germany to visit an old alchemist friend for some help with the name Hohenhiem. Meanwhile, John Dee and Virginia Dare are searching for two immortal alchemists who could possibly help them get out of their predicament...
1. Chapter 1: Flamel

**Wow. Edited some. Didn't realize that my writing had improved enough for me to spot my own mistakes and want to fix them. So yeah.**

**Thanks for reading. :3**

**Don't own either FMA or SINF.**

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><p>Where are we going?" Virginia Dare demanded to Dr. John Dee. The two were hurrying down the slow streets of a small village just east of Munich, Germany, their destination.<p>

When she was only met with silence, Virginia repeated her question, annoyed.

"Where are we going?"

After a small, but noticable pause, Dee sighed.

"To visit an immortal or two."

"How stupid are you to think they'll _help_ us?" Dare exclaimed, exasperated, as she wove her flute around in the air. "The whole world is against us!"

"These two people have never taken a side in the Elders' war," the tailored man replied patiently. "They keep to themselves, and if my information is correct, they don't really even have a master."

Dare narrowed her eyes. "So they have the Exilir?"

"No. Their homeland is supposedly another shadow realm. They were granted immortality, for a price—they destroyed the only laygate to their world. But that's off subject. If we can get even a tad bit if help from the two of them, we might get away clean… or at least gain extremely powerful allies."

The woman's lips twitched, barely resisting the urge to let out a shirll, feral note to decapitate the idiot of a 'doctor'. She looked over at Dee sharply, not believing him, wondering what was in his drink last night. Had he finally gone mad? In that case, she would have to ditch him and find a place to hide for a while. That was going to cost her dearly.

"And what immortal would be able to do that?" Dare snapped. "How old are they? Surely their names must be wide-spread if they could do such a thing!"

"Strangely, they're only a few years older than 100, but their skills are almost legendary. I'm not surprised you haven't heard of them. They try hard to keep their names covered."

"Just tell me who would possess such ability at an age like that," Dare's voice was a monotone, but it was deadly.

Dee sighed at her incompetence. "Edward and Alphonse Elric."

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><p>Walking down the streets of an older part of Munich, Germany, the Twins of Legend and the Flamels tried not to attract attention. It wasn't very hard, as everyone who passed them by seemed to only be hurrying around with their own business. They all ignored the group of four, most likely just assuming them to be some teenagers with their grandparents.<p>

"Where are we going?" Sophie asked Perennelle.

"To visit an old alchemist friend of Nicholas. Van Hohenhiem, I think it was. Nicholas thinks he might be able to help us."

"Oh."

"Is he an immortal?" Josh tried to keep the annoyance out of his voice. He failed.

"Yes, I believe so. Maybe older than Nicholas and myself," Flamel's wife answered smoothly, ignoring the venom in Josh's voice.

Sophie and Josh weren't exactly sure what to expect, but from their previous encounters with Flamel's friends...they were wary, to say the least. "Friends" of the Flamels weren't always the best company. They all seemed to have some sort of magnet for trouble and danger, too. Or maybe that was the twins themselves.

Nicholas himself was walking ahead, mumbling to himself and thinking. _Now where was it...? Oh, there!_

The three watched him turn into a small, well-kept flower shop.

"Good morning," An old woman greeted them warmly.

Nicholas smiled brightly at her. "Hello, madame. I couldn't help but stop by your lovely shop. These flowers simply captivate the eye."

With a slight smile, the woman chuckled a bit, then said, "You're not here for the flowers, are you?"

Blinking in surprise at the woman's deduction skills, Nicholas tried to regain his composure. "Why would you think something like that, madame?"

She shrugged slightly, indifferently. "The youngsters I share the appartments with have more than a few unusual friends. I can just see it in your eyes, you're probably looking for them."

Nicholas shook his head, dropping his act. "No, but I am looking for a man by the name of Van Hohenhiem. Do you know him? The last letter he sent me was from this address."

The woman frowned. "I can't say I have. You might want to ask Edward and Alphonse, though, they might have known him."

"Thank you, _Frau_..."

"Elysia. Elysia Hughes."

"Thank you, _Frau_ Hughes."

Right on cue, footsteps were heard tromping down the stairs, and two blonde teenagers walked into view.

One had long, golden blonde hair tied up into a ponytail and eyes to match. The other (presumably younger) had short, light brown hair and hazel eyes. They looked very much like brothers.

"Bye, Elysia," the elder looking one said casually. "We're heading out-"

Edward's eyes drifted to the four strangers now staring at him and his brother. Within a second he smiled politely (it was a grimace, if you could see it closely. Ed? Social? No), and Al said, "Are you looking to buy some flowers? Well, you've come to the right place. _Frau_ Elysia has some of the best flowers in Munich!" With a polite smile, Al bowed slightly and made for the entry of the shop with his brother.

"Hold on a minute, boys," Elysia said, causing the two to stop and turn around. "This man asked about a Van Hohenheim. Do you know him?"

With a bit of a surprised look, the golden blonde turned his piercing gaze on Nicholas. "He's dead. You won't find him here," he said with a rather direct tone.

Nicholas looked disappointed. "I see... Well, then I should probably be off. Oh, excuse me, _Frau _Elysia. Allow me to purchase a few of these lovely roses. No, no, I insist. Keep the change."

As the Flamels and twins headed for the door, Ed called to them, "Hey, why did you want to see Hohenhiem for?"

Flamel blinked, contemplating what to say. "He was an old friend of mine. I had a few science theories I wanted to share with him, but I guess it's a little too late now."

Ed narrowed his eyes. All of a sudden, Flamel was being pushing up against the wall, and Ed's arm was barring his way out. "What the hell do you want with him, old man?" Ed growled. "What this time? You know he was an alchemist. So what occult are _you _from? I've already dealt with, what, twenty of you already. Get lost."

Flamel calmly placed a hand on Edward's arm. "My name is Nicholas Flamel. I, too, am an alchemist. You could probably find me in any of his alchemical journals. Now, the question is: who are _you_?"

Ed released the man roughly, standing back by his younger brother's side. "Edward Elric. Hohenhiem was my father."

Nicholas nodded, his gaze now looking pointedly at Al.

"Oh! I'm sorry," Al realized. "Alphonse Elric."

With an acknowledging nod, Flamel swept his hand towards his companions. "My wife, Perenelle, and... our grandchildren, Sophie and Josh."

Ed narrowed his eyes, having heard the small pause in Flamel's sentence.

There was an uncomfortable silence, and then Ed gruffly added, "That old man would've coded his alchemical research. Even _he's _not that stupid. I'm sure I couldn't read his stuff if I tried."

When no remark came from Flamel, Ed scowled and rolled his eyes. "Well, what're you just going to stand there? Get lost."

"Brother!" Al admonished, now glaring at said blonde. "I'm really sorry about Ed, Mr. Flamel," Al said honestly. "Umm... why don't you guys come up to our apartment?"

"What?" Ed spun on his brother. "Al, they're completely _strangers_. And who the hell knows what they want! You don't just go inviting every random person you see on the streets to our apartment! They're not _cats_!"

Al pouted slightly. "That's rude, brother. Maybe we can help, since they're looking for dad, we can probably answer at least something they came for."

Ed huffed. "Whatever. Come on, Flamel, whatever your name is."

The Flamels and the twins followed the brothers up the stairs, and into an apartment. Josh and Sophie dropped down on a couch, while the husband and wife situated themselves in two chairs by the small table where the brothers probably ate.

The door closed quietly, and the two brothers stood in front of the four.

"I take it you're one of those 'immortal' guys, right?" Ed sighed.

Nicholas nodded curtly. "I am Nicholas Flamel."

"And I am Perennelle Flamel, his wife."

Ed cursed. "I thought we had covered ourselves up, Al."

Al sighed. Then he turned to the twins. "What about you two?" Al asked oh-so-innocently.

"Oh, Sophie Newman."

"...Josh Newman."

"You guys must be twins!"

"We are!" Sophie laughed.

"Are you immortal, too?" Ed asked coldly.

"No way!" Just blurted out.

"We're just 15!" Sophie assured them.

Ed nodded, then smirked. "Still the youngest looking immortal, huh, Al?"

Al smiled at his brother. "Youngest LOOKING. If they were immortal, then they'd be the youngest to be immortal, not me!"

"You two are immortal!" Josh gasped.

Ed raised an eyebrow. "Did that slip? Yeah, we are."

"You said something about looking younger than you are...or were when you became immortal?"

"Oh, yeah! Wait...do you want the long version or the short version?" Al asked.

"Simplest one," Ed muttered. Then he grumbled something about 'not short'.

"Well, then, I lost my body when I was ten, and when I got it back, I was fifteen, but my body was still ten. So I became immortal when I was seventeen, but my body was only twelve," Al recited, rather mater-of-factly.

_'I thought his childish face had an adultified tint to it_,' Nicholas confirmed.

"How'd that happen?" Sophie inquired.

Josh's eyebrows were furrowed, trying to make sense of the sentence. Everyone else was too, but hiding it much, much better.

"None of your business," Ed growled.

She shrunk back down.

"Ed!" Al scolded.

"So if you guys are immortal, what magics do you know?" Josh glanced at his sulking sister.

Ed snarled. "Magic. I hate that. We don't practice any of the '_magics_'," he said venomously.

Al sighed. "We're scientists. We don't believe in unprovable concepts. Equivalent Exchange. In order to gain something, something of equal value must be lost. Magic defies that principle."

Ed snorted. "And besides, who needs magic when we already have all we need?"

Al grinned as Ed put his arm around him.

Nicholas sat back in his chair. If they didn't practice magic… what place did they have in this world of immortals…?

" I have to admit, I'm curious," Flamel started slowly. "If you do not practice magic…and you say you are scientists… would the two of you happen to be alchemists?"

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><p><strong>Edited 1-31-12.<strong>

**Edited 2-14-12.**


	2. Chapter 2: Dee

**Wow! It's been over a month! I didn't know wether to continue this or not, and yesterday, it just suddenly came to me. So I guess I will continue. Not very often, though. I've done some other FF stuff over the time that I first posted this story, so I hope my writing is better. I better understand the system now, etc. Is basic swearing OK in a K plus story? I hope it is...**

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><p>Ed raised an eyebrow. "I'm impressed. Not that many people can figure that out. Interesting. Who did you say you were again, old man?"<p>

Flamel chuckled. "You aren't exactly young yourself. But I am Nicholas Flamel, commonly known as the Alchemyst."

Realization dawned on Ed's eyes. "Oh! Dammit, Al! Why didn't I realize earlier? We've always wanted to ask you some stuff on alchemy, considering this world's alchemy is different than ours."

Al nodded enthusiastically at Flamel, his big childlike eyes extremely hard to say no to. "Yeah! It's an honor to meet you, Mr. Flamel," Al bowed slightly.

Nicholas' eyes danced. "Really? I feel flattered! But I wouldn't go asking me for help. Destruction usually happens to follow in my path," he sighed.

The brothers laughed. "Please! Brother gets us in enough trouble by himself. What you do can't amount to that! Don't worry about us," Al assured the Alchemyst.

"Well, then, if you say so. Here, alchemy is more of a legend than the real thing, and it takes immense amounts of time. It isn't exactly the most practical career, and very few can use it, never mind make a living off it."

Ed frowned. "That's what I thought. In our world-"

"What do you mean, 'your world'?" Josh interrupted.

"... We're from a different shadowrealm, and the only way back there was destroyed. We destroyed it, actually. So we're stuck here now."

Sophie's eyes softened. "That must be hard... Losing your home..."

Al sighed. "What we came here for was our own sacrifice. Sure we miss our friends back home, but we had to insure that our shadowrealms didn't destroy each other."

"Sacrifice for the greater good," Ed chimed in.

"Who would be your master, since the two of you are immortal?"

_'Well, someone knows how to get to the point,'_ Ed thought snidely.

"Now why would we tell that to some random immortal?" Ed's eyes gleamed. But, if you must know...We don't have one. We gained it when we destroyed our gate. It was ineventful, I guess, but we didn't really want it in the first place."

Flamel nodded. "But surely the two of you know some elders and other immortals."

Al shook his head. "Not really. We try to stay away from that mess."

"Though Athena does owe us a favor..."

"And Khnum doesn't like brother..."

"I HATE Anubis..."

"And Ptolemy is kinda weird..."

"Al, Ptolemy is an old guy. REALLY OLD. Of course he's screwed in the head. He babbles on about some djinni called 'Bartimaeus' all the time."

"My mistake, brother," Al said sarcastically.

"Oh yeah, wasn't there that Skeleton Detective guy, too?"

"Yeah... What was his name?"

"Skulduggery Pleasant, I think."

Nicholas cleared his throat, catching the attention of the two blondes. They could obviously go on forever like that.

"I see, I just - "

A loud banging on the door interrupted Flamel.

"Open the door or we'll destroy it," a feminine voice said rather forcefully from the other side.

Perenelle knew she'd heard that voice before... Was it...?

"What do we do brother?" Al asked.

"We leave it. They'll go away. Like the Major, Al."

"But, brother-"  
>The door was blown off its hinges.<p>

"...That never worked with Major Armstrong..." Al finished weakly.

Ed growled, and swiftly stood up. Striding up to the doorway, Ed made sure his switchblade knife was in easy reach. **(Ed needs a modern weapon besides alchemy and an automail blade that won't attract THAT much attention... You must agree... And because the thought of Ed with knives makes me laugh. XD)**

"And who the hell are you, to go blowing up our door?" Ed growled at the two figures who were now visible that the smoke had cleared.

"Dee," Flamel snarled.

Ed held out his arm. "This is our apartment. Not yours, old man. Leave this to me."

Turning back to the two intruders, Ed didn't look to happy to see them, either. "Well? Who are you?" Ed demanded, Al joining him at the door.

"Ah, I'm sorry! My name is John Dee!" Dee gushed.

"What do you want? And I take it you're ANOTHER immortal. How the hell can there be this many of you? It pisses me off!" Ed scowled.

Dee blinked. "You are an immortal yourself, no? My areas of expertise? I am trained in all four elements, an alchemist, and a necromancer. I-"

"You're a _necromancer_?" There was venom in Ed's voice.

"AND an alchemist?" Al added bitterly. "That's shameful. One of the biggest disgraced I could ever imagine! Why would you practice such a... _disgusting_ thing like NECROMANCY if you study the arts of ALCHEMY?"

"The alchemy we practice has few rules. Equivalent Exchange, you must give as much as you receive. Human Transmutation is taboo, namely BRINGING SOMEONE BACK TO LIFE. And lastly, one that I'll admit even I break sometimes, do not make gold. If everyone does it, it'll ruin the economy. Necromancy," Ed said the word like it was a plague. "Breaks the first two, hands down. You, Dee, are NOT an alchemist."

A silence following Ed's speech left Dee, well, speechless. He blinked. The brothers glared back.

Dee opened his mouth to day something, but a small knife hit the wall next to Dee's neck with a small thud. Dee was rendered speechless again. **(Edo doesn't like Dee, does he?)** Edward's movement had been so quick, Dee hand even seen his arm move until the knife was in the wall. One thing was for sure, this man was a dangerous opponent.

The hate and disgust remained in Ed's eyes as he said, "Now get out."

Dew frowned. "Ms. Dare?"

Virginia Dare, who had, for the most part, avoided contact with the brothers put the flute to her lips and played a low, seducing note. Ed gasped, but all in the room, save Dee and Dare, passed out on the floor.

Dee nodded. "Shall we get out of here?"

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><p><strong>The Skulduggery and Bartimaeus reference... I love those series! Hilarious! Go check them out! I can see Bartimaeus annoying Ed till he blows up... XD Anywho, I don't think that I did too well with the different elders. I only did Greek and Egyptian... (Thank the gods for Rick Riordan!) ATHENA is the Greek goddess of wisdom and battle strategy. If the brothers actually got along with a eldergod, I can see it being her. KHNUM is the Egyptian god of creation. Ed VS Khnum. Try it. ANUBIS is the Egyptian god of the dead. (Like Hades. Or Pluto.) If that isn't reason enough for the Elrics to hate him, I can give you a list. PTOLEMY was a Greek philosopher... I think. From, like... BC times... I decided that he's an immortal! SKULDUGGERY... is Skulduggery. XD A fire-throwing skeleton detective. :)**

**So yeah. R&R!**


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